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Why Aged Leads Make Perfect Sense

Troy Wilson
By Troy Wilson
Why Aged Leads Make Perfect Sense Feature Image
6 minute read
⚠️ Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this article is accurate, neither its authors nor Aged Lead Store accepts responsibility for any errors or omissions. The content of this article is for general information only, and is not intended to constitute or be relied upon as legal advice.

Aged LeadsAre you quick on the draw with your leads? Just how quick?

According to a new report, if you don’t call your leads in the first 5 minutes, you’re apparently not quick enough! Don’t worry, though — there’s good news for us regular folks who know how to work leads, and particularly aged leads, the right way with cold calling, call nurturing, and relationship building. Here’s why.

The Early Bird Closes the Sale

The speedy 5-minute statistic comes from a new report by insurance industry firm Contactability, which finds that the quickest agents have the best chance of reaching the customer (500% better odds than average), the best chance of qualifying a lead (21 times better odds than slower agents), and the best chance of closing (78% of leads close with who contacted them first).

According to the report, an agent’s chances of easy success and fast closes drops off sharply after the 5-minute mark. The odds of contacting a lead at all drops nearly 100 times by 30 minutes in.

But We’re Only Human

The problem is, short of the few actual superhero agents out there, we’re only human. The infrastructure and resources needed to be able to process a lead in less that 5 minutes is more than most agents and even some large agencies can muster.

The same industry report bears this out — just 37% of agents managed to contact their leads within an hour, forget the preferred 5- or even 30-minute timeframes given. Just over 1 out of 3 agents managed what by all accounts would be a speedy customer service turn around. Furthermore, the study says the average response type was just under 2 full days at 42 hours and that a surprising 23% of insurance sales companies who paid upfront for a lead never responded to that lead.

If You Can’t Be Fast, Be Good

What all this data tells me is that if you don’t have superhuman speed, just be good at selling insurance. The skill of a good sales professional comes not from speed, but from patience, knowledge, people skills, and persistence, among other things. The measure of a professional isn’t the easy sale but the challenging sale.

What that 78%-go-with-the-first-agent statistic doesn’t tell us is everything. What’s the quality and longevity of that agent–client relationship? How appropriate is that initial insurance product the lead bought? Are they still a client next week? How about next year? Does that client return for future business or give out high-quality referrals?

It’s impossible to know how well these quick lead sales go, but what we do know is that people buy from people. Relationships and what we may sometimes consider old-fashioned sales techniques are still around because, surprise, surprise, they work!

Why You Should Work Your Leads Skillfully

That leads me to the second big takeaway from this report: working older leads pays off. According to the results, only 5% of leads are ready to convert right away. That leaves a whopping 95% of leads that need work, work that does pay off — 40% of leads will eventually buy. That number should be higher, except that half of all leads in the survey were never called a second time! If you call your leads twice, you’re already doing better than 50% of agents out there. And there’s good reason to do more. Agents who work leads effectively have triple the sales!

Why Aged Leads Make Perfect Sense

If you aren’t part of the 37% of agents who contact leads in less than an hour, you may wonder what you should be doing instead. I’d highly recommend an aged lead strategy. You’ll get a better return on your lead-buying investment while growing your business more effectively and sidestepping the competition. Aged leads, those leads that are just a bit older, are the result of real prospects looking for insurance coverage. The only difference is age.

Now you may wonder, given that quickdraw contact works so well, whether these older leads are worth it. The same report suggests the answer is a big yes:

  • 50% of leads are only called once before agents give up.
  • Your odds of getting the lead on the phone increase 87% if you call a second time.
  • Your chance of speaking with the lead increases to 93% after 6 calls.
  • You can expect 300% more closed sales if you’re able to work leads effectively.

Furthermore, 95% of agents never call a lead after the first week. And this is where you sidestep the competition with an aged lead strategy. Once you make contact with the lead you’ll hear one of three things:

  • He bought from the first agent he talked to.
  • He bought from the best salesman he talked to.
  • He was turned off by a flood of calls and didn’t buy.

Each situation presents an opportunity to offer a better fit of coverage or help the prospect choose the product they need in a less frenzied environment.

While you won’t close every sale with an aged leads strategy, you will save a good bit of money on the leads you buy. Aged leads can be had for a fraction of the cost of real-time exclusive leads.

Buy in bulk and work through your list systematically and you’ll be surprised by your ROI. It’s all due to three things:

  • Working leads more diligently than the competition.
  • Nurturing your leads effectively and selling the solution they need.
  • Working leads in volume to boost your ROI and lower your costs.

Conclusion

While being the fastest to contact leads can pay off, it’s by no means the only way or best way to win at selling insurance. Skilled agents can take the long view with an aged lead strategy, either alone or as part of a diversified strategy, and win.

A large portion of leads will eventually buy. With only 5% of agents working aged leads and many more giving up quickly on their own leads, you have more than one edge over the competition. The question is, how will you make the most of this opportunity?

Get started with an aged lead strategy today by visiting The Aged Lead Store where you can search through and purchase thousands of high-quality aged leads.

How to Use Aged Leads in Your Overall Sales and Marketing Plan
How to Use Aged Leads in Your Overall Sales and Marketing Plan
Learn how to increase lead flow, improve lead quality, and make more sales with help from Aged Lead Store.
Troy Wilson

About Troy Wilson

Troy is the CEO and founder of Aged Lead Store. He has been in the lead generation industry for over two decades. His blog posts focus on how to refine your sales process and get the most out of your insurance leads, mortgage leads, and solar leads.

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